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Save Money In These Difficult Times |
By Mike Parsonage
 How can you reduce your household budget by 30 - 50%? The news is full of dire predictions about the state of the economy. Large corporations that seemed invincible are now collapsing into bankruptcy. Jobs are being lost at alarming rates and it is getting worse everyday. Ordinary people are suffering through loss of income and the threat of foreclosure. You could just sit there and pray that you will survive or you could take some steps to save money and continue to enjoy your lifestyle.
Most of us trust to luck and hope that things will turn out right. You lose your job and for a while pretend that nothing has happened. You need to keep up appearances. You need to persuade yourself that this is only a temporary glitch and you will soon have another better job soon and that everything will be OK. After all, the credit cards will pay the bills until the new pay checks arrive. It is really important to remain confident, self assured and in control by maintaining
your lifestyle and status while looking for that new job.
Yes right!
It doesn't take too long to realise that the credit cards will not last that long. The debts are growing at such a rate that you will need an amazing job to pay them off. It's then that you start to panic and take drastic action. The holidays are cancelled. Restaurants become a luxury that you can't afford. Life becomes stressed and miserable.
It doesn't have to be that way.
Take a careful look at your family budget and honestly analyse where the money is going. I like to split the areas into categories such as loans, insurance, household bills, clothing, food, cleaning products, entertainment, holidays etc. You can then divide these further so household bills could include gas bill, electricity bill, water bill, telephone bill, cell phone bill, etc. Be careful to look at a pattern of spending over several months to get a more realistic picture. Any one month may have more of less bills etc and give misleading results.
Then you can decide which of these are essential, which are important to you as a family, and which are really luxuries. This helps you to plan your budget and take control of your expenses.
Now that you understand where the money is going you may be surprised. When my wife and I did this exercise we found that a huge proportion was food and general household products. We looked at this and the wastage involved and have managed to cut the costs down to 30 - 50% of what they used to be and we are eating and living better into the bargain. There are so many ways to save money without compromising your lifestyle once you understand what is happening.
Examples of savings that you can make are:
(1) Power shopping techniques and grocery coupons to help you get the most from your dollar. It is very easy to pop into the local convenience store to buy odd products as you need it but this is very expensive. Learn how to plan your shopping needs and buy economically. It is possible to make huge savings.
(2) Making your own home brew. This is both a fascinating hobby and a great method of saving money for keen beer drinkers. These days the hobby has gone well beyond the basic kits and mediocre products of a few years ago. With the right experience it is possible to brew excellent beers that you would be proud to share with your neighbours.
(3) Look at planning big events like a family wedding by yourself. There is a lot of guidance available and with careful planning and preparation you can produce an event that will be talked about for years to come - and for a fraction of the cost.
(4) Learn about the potential to save money on travel fares and hotel bookings. It is possible to save heaps and still have the holiday of your choice. Invest a little time to learn how the booking systems work and plan carefully.
(5) You can also get many great things for free such as play golf for free, cruise ship travel for free, concerts for free etc. Why pay top dollar, when with some insider knowledge you can enjoy life without the expense. See the following website pages for more details.
Mike Parsonage has written several books and created many very successful small businesses based on a simple ideas. His website has many ideas to help families save money. www.AvroBooks.com
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